Capito working on bipartisan federal permit reform bill

Jan. 31—Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is going full steam ahead on pursuing federal perming reform, which would help speed up the process of completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).

Capito said last week during a virtual press briefing two different committees are being urged to work on a compromise bill that would shorten the time it takes for permitting, especially in the energy sector.

The MVP, a 300-mile, 42-inch diameter natural gas pipeline from north central West Virginia running to Chatham, Va., is more than 90 percent complete but continues to be delayed by lawsuits over federal permits.

Both Capito and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., have been trying to provide a way to fast track the process of obtaining a federal permit as well as speed up court cases to get the MVP open and to help other energy-related projects move ahead faster.

The process now often takes seven to 10 years.

"Canada can do it in 18 months," Capito said. "We should be able to do that."

But there is "too much litigation, too many loopholes and not enough serious reform," she said. "I think we can get there, but I don't think it will be easy."

Manchin has made several attempts to attach the permitting reform to other legislation, but has been unsuccessful.

In September 2022, Capito introduced her own bill, the Simplify Timelines and Assure Regulatory Transparency (START) Act, a comprehensive federal regulatory permitting and project review reform legislation similar to what Manchin wants.

Both are committed to seeing the MVP finished as soon as possible.

The MVP project started out with a $3.5 billion price tag and was projected to be transporting natural gas by late 2018.

But with protests and court cases based on the federal permitting, FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) recently extended the current permits until 2026 and the cost of the MVP is now estimated to be well over $6 billion.

Capito is Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) and Manchin is Chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

"I believe the best way to get results ... is to work it through the committees and find bipartisan solutions," Capito said. "We can do this on permitting."

Capito said she is urging the two committees to formulate a permitting bill by finding portions that are relevant to each committee and combine it into one bipartisan bill.

"There is an appetite (for federal permitting reform) from the renewables community, and there is an appetite from the pipeline and natural gas community as well," she said.

Manchin said previously that if his reform passed, the MVP could be completed in six months because other courts could hear the cases and timelines would be enforced.

"It is certainly not a topic that is going away," Capito said last week. "So we are going to keep pursing it and that includes, for me, the MVP pipeline."

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com